Afghanistan's foreign minister says nuclear-armed Pakistan is the world's main security concern.
Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said Thursday at a public forum in Washington that Pakistan, not Iraq or Afghanistan, is the main center of instability in the world.
Spanta is in Washington to participate in the U.S. government's review of its South Asia policy. He is meeting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi later Thursday.
U.S.-led forces have been fighting al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Afghanistan since overthrowing the Taliban government 2001. Some Islamic extremists operate from Pakistan, which is also struggling with economic and political instability.
Qureshi told VOA earlier Thursday that in trilateral meetings held so far, Pakistan has concluded it will build a partnership with Afghanistan. He described the discussions as "productive."
Qureshi told VOA that for now, regional neighbor India would not take part in the talks.
On Wednesday, he said that Pakistan wants the United States to rethink its use of drones (unmanned aircraft) to attack militant targets in Pakistan. He said Pakistan, not the U.S., should control the drones.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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